Thanks to NetGalley and DarkLit Press for allowing access to an advanced copy of Kosa.

4.5 rounded up to 5.

Kosa is a dark, horrific retelling of Rapunzel. A young girl, Kosa, is taken from her family by an evil witch because her hair possesses the power of eternal youth. As Kosa gets older, she learns more about her horrifying life and what the witch does in the confines of their home.

This book was probably one of the darkest books I've read within the last several months. John Durgin did such a fantastic job creating an atmosphere of complete dispair and darkness. Reading it I felt completely hopeless and couldn't see a happy ending. It was gruesome and disturbing without being too over-the-top, and all of the horrific elements definitely added to the story perfectly. I was so terrified of the witch, scenes from this novel were definitely fast-paced and nightmare-inducing. I also loved the lore added in about the witch's history, which wasn't much but still enough to give a good idea of how she came to be. This book was pure magic and horror, and it was everything I was hoping for and more. DEFINITELY check the trigger warnings for this book, because honestly most of the topics were very taboo and I don't see this being a book for everyone.

Awesome book. This is the first time I’ve read anything by this author but will definitely be seeking out more. I never really knew the story of Rapunzel so I had to look it up. Anyway, this is a great horror read. Check it out.

In Kosa, John Durgin tells a sinister horror story, weaving fairy tale elements from both Hansel & Gretel and Rapunzel into the novel. It’s a reading experience filled with chills and thrills; mystery and violence.

Things I loved:
-Multiple perspectives. The different characters and time jumps in this novel really served it well. I loved how abrupt some of the transitions were- you never knew which characters would make it to the end of the story!
-Kosa’s plight. With as claustrophobic of a setting for our protagonist, I felt the author managed to do a lot with the character. It was easy to root for her, even if you weren’t sure if she would take a moral turn for the worse or the better.
-Setting. The house was creepy! The basement was creepy! The woods were foreboding! Bad vibes all around and I was into it.

Things I could have loved more:
-Conclusion. The last 1/5 or so of the novel really lost a lot of steam for me. I’m not sure if that’s because it started to feel more like an action novel than a horror novel, but there was just A LOT going on. It felt a little rushed.
-Croatian witch. Marta felt very one-dimensional. I don’t feel the magic of the story was explained enough. It sat in that spot of ‘you told us enough to make us curious and then withheld an explanation’. Again, this dampened my enjoyment of the novel in the conclusion.
-Repetitive writing. Too much focus on how creepy the cats were every time they were in a scene. Tons of hair eating. Many mentions of an ‘open floor plan’. It felt like the writing could’ve been tightened up a bit.

All in all, this was a fun read and I would certainly give something else by the author a shot! This is perfect for folks who like dark fairy tales or horror injected with some menacing magic.

Thanks to DarkLit Press for the opportunity to read this ahead of its official release!

Top 3 I've read this year. This is an 20 on a 10 scale. Fast and descriptive. I do read alot sometimes it takes awhile but Kosa was tore through. It just got more anxious and needing to finish. This is begging for a book 2(or more). Durgin is a can't miss author that needs to be considered with the big names. It could easily be seen as a movie/show. Thank you for the great read and will purchase to have in my collection

I loved this folkloric horror story, the brutality of it all, and the fact that it managed to make me care for the characters.

This is described as a Rapunzel retelling and I do get the reference but it was also so much more than that. It was scary, it was emotional and it was very brutal, like I said before. But I love this author’s writing, even if it felt a bit disjointed at times, I think he has a knack for writing horror based on folklore, I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more from this author.

If the writing in general had been smoother, I’d be rating this much higher. Still, a fun and creepy read that I do recommend if you’re into retellings or folklore.

I won't say this is a horror version of Rapunzel because original fairy tales are already pretty horrific. So it's a different version of the story. A little slow at some mid points but the beginning, 1st chapter specifically is very creepy, like opening of Stolen Tongues creepy. The ending brings it all together with a lot of action and more than makes up for the slower parts. The author has courteously placed content warnings at the end of the book for those that wish to see them, although this is definitely not an extreme horror.

Possible spoilers
Part 1
It all starts with a father trying to provide for his family, after losing his job and spending money on drugs, he decides to rob an old woman’s home.
But somethings not quite right, the cats being the first part! When he steals an orb filled with green light, barely escaping the woman and her familiars, things go south at home.
His pregnant wife touched the glowing orb to her stomach and the light disappears and pain arrives in her womb.
It does not end well for Bridgett and Alan..
Part 2
6 years later and a family vacationing at their boss’s home runs into the old woman, Kosa’s mother.
Bryce is to be her new playmate, but all loose ends need to be tied up…
Part 3
Kosa is 16 and knows more about mothers problems and deeds, and has figured out how to move about the house more.
Ian’s wife died on the trail and he has been obsessed with trying to figure it out. His sister invites him to the same house Bryce’s family stayed in years ago for Christmas. While there his nephew, Sammy, goes missing in the woods.
Part 4
The climax, and man is it great! I don’t want to give too much away.

The build up through parts one and two are great but I could not stop reading through all of part 3 and 4.

I’m a huge fan of this author so grabbing this to read was a no brainer, but I didn’t love this story as much as his others. The premise is great, the “villain” intriguing & unique…however the characters fell flat for me. I just didn’t connect with them, they felt very one dimensional. Because of this, I wasn’t invested in their arcs or their fate in the end. Will definitely read more from in the future though based on his other novels!

Unfortunately the writing style really doesn't work for me. It didn't flow well. I almost felt like I was reading a list or textbook.

The beginning of this story foretold just how great it was going to be. It is extremely well written and the characters, especially Kosa, are unique. John does a great job telling a dark horror story that keeps you hanging off the edge of your seat. Definitely add John Durgin as an author whose stories are worth reading everytime.

Prepare to be captivated and unsettled in equal measure as you delve into the dark and twisted realms of Kosa. In this sinister retelling of a classic fairytale, the author weaves an enchanting narrative that takes you on a wild ride. Kosa stands as a testament to the author's ability to reimagine and redefine the familiar. Kosa will linger in the reader's mind, and is a reminder that even the most enchanting tales can harbor dark secrets. Thank you to NetGalley, DarkLit Press and John Durgin for allowing me to review this ARC.

This is Durgin's best yet. Kosa starts strong and doesn't let you down the whole way! This pulls heavily and darkly from a classic fairy tale. It will pull you in from the beginning, and it doesn't stop.

John Durgin does a fine job in recreating a dark fantasy fairy tale of Rapunzel, the young maiden who is locked away by an evil witch in order to steal the maiden's youth and vitality via her long hair. Rapunzel here is Kosa, a Croatian word for "hair", and the evil witch a Croatian hag whose appetite for roasted human child rivals that of any ancient cannibal's.

I enjoyed this story, especially once it got going after the initial set up of meeting Kosa's dad and mum. There were many unexpected moments that the book took, particularly as Durgin doesn't mind sacrificing a character or three to further the plot. I learned early on not to get too attached to any one character, because they might not survive to the next chapter.

In fact, this book could easily have been a Hansel and Gretel retelling as that of Rapunzel. Lots of little kids were cooked and eaten by witchy witches.

My thanks to Netgalley, the fine folks at DarkLit Press, and of course the author John Durgin for an arc of this book for a review. I enjoyed it a lot! Props to all, and by the way, my thoughts in this review are entirely my own.

I’ll start off by saying I loved the fact that this book was a Rapunzel retelling. I always appreciate when authors put their own twists on existing stories and I like how John Durgin put his own twist on it! Another thing I appreciated about the book were the multiple perspectives from different families and people as the years went on. This was a part of the book that kept me engaged and wanting to find out more.

Unfortunately, there were parts of this book I didn’t love. I felt the dialogue and the descriptions were a bit stiff. There were so many mentions of “an open floor plan” and “the boy/the girl”, it made the writing feel a little stilted at times. Additionally, as much as I adored Kosa as a character, there were some inconsistencies of her naivety and how it was portrayed - this took me out of the immersion of the story a little.

All in all, I still enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a creepy retelling of Rapunzel! (:

Another amazing read by John Durgin! I absolutely loved this one. It was dark, eerie, and well written. John does an amazing job creating characters that you both feel for and fear. I would absolutely recommend this book to everyone.

This modern day, twisted, retelling of Rapunzel started out so creapy that I couldn't stop thinking, or talking, about it! The descriptions of the the witch, her familiars and rituals were so descriptive and dark. If I was pregnant, I would not have made it very far into this book.... As it was, I just snuggled my babies a little closer while I tried, unsuccessfully, to find a calm spot to pause for the night.

*slight spoiler alert *

The ONLY thing I didn't really like about the book was that Kosa sometimes was confused by modern things (like a walkie talkie or cell phone), but wasn't at all confused about others (like a gun or a car)... I know it would have been annoying, and probably hard to write, to have her be truly innocent of a lot of modern things. Even though as she would have been since she was locked away her whole life. It wasn't enough to make me dislike the book, I just noticed it a couple of times and it took me out of the story for a minute while I told myself to just ignore it!

What do you get when you combine the tale of Rapunzel with a modern twist and pure abject horror? Indie superstar John Durgin’s Kosa might well be the answer. Rapunzel as written by Jonathan Janz with a twist of Josh Malerman, Kosa begins as the story of a father seeking to do right by his pregnant wife, but in the process manages to anger a very old and very dangerous witch.

After a bloody prologue, the story centers on none other but Kosa herself. The “child” of the wicked witch who positions herself as Mother, Kosa exists herself to serve and empower the witch with her long and lustrous hair. When she slowly realizes her mother’s monstrous nature, Kosa is left to struggle with an uncertain future and the ultimate desire for freedom.

“Kosa” is a dark book, but not without shards of light. Durgin is writing with some of his best work, and it’s delightful to see how his style has evolved for the better since his debut. If there is a flaw, it is only that the dialogue can be a touch clunky at times, but his characterization and prose are on point. Durgin writes gore and builds dread with absolute master strokes.

Durgin is well aware of the tropes he’s using and plays them to maximum effect. Kosa is an unsanitized fairy tale, filled with magic and nightmare in equal measure, but makes it darker and grimmer than even Charles Perrault could imagine. The descriptions remain haunting, the characters are completely on point, and Durgin continues to show his promise as a fantastic voice with his inventive, horrifying works.

Something lurks deep in the woods of New Hampshire and children continue to disappear...

This is a mash-up retelling of Rapunzel (Kosa) and a Baba Yaga-esque character (Marta). Kosa has spent her life locked away in the attic under the watchful eyes of Mother and her familiars. A litany of rules guide everything about the secluded life that Kosa leads and she accepts them, until she doesn't. Mother needs Kosa and their nightly rituals to maintain her very existence, and while Kosa doesn't like what they must do to survive she understands that there is a price to pay to keep her mother alive.

Overall I would rate this book a 3.5. The premise and pace is intriguing to keep you invested, however the dialogue and transitions throughout the story oscillate between underdeveloped and rushed, to drawn out and repetitive. I would have loved to have dove into the background of Marta more in the beginning of the story rather than piecemealed through heart to hearts with Kosa, which seemed like a huge juxtaposition with how Marta treats her throughout the story. There were moments that could have been truly horrifying but ultimately ended up feeling more like a YA novel.

I think this could have been a 5 star read for me had there been a bit more character development and the horror had been a bit less formulaic. It was engaging none the less and if someone enjoys dark fairytale retellings, I would say give it a shot.

Thanks NetGalley and DarkLit Press for the advanced copy in exchange for feedback!

Absolutely loved this horror take on Repunzel’s story. The writing style was a little hard to read and it could’ve been shorter.

I like how the author has a note at the end that this book wouldn't exist without Neil Gaiman. Gaiman also finds a way to put magic into the real world, which makes it more scary and exciting. While this is a dark fairy tale adaptation, this book builds on the story and makes it more adult. Fairy tales are dark by nature, and this story actually makes me look at Rapunzel differently, looking for darker motives.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this